Federico Chiesa has taken another hit in his stop-start Liverpool career, left out of Andoni Iraola’s Champions League squad for the league phase and consigned, for now, to watching Europe’s biggest stage from the sidelines.
The Italian winger, joined by Wataru Endo among the notable omissions, has again fallen on the wrong side of the registration cut as Iraola finalised his list. In a dressing room reshaped and swollen with options, someone had to miss out. Chiesa is that someone. Again.
A Familiar Frustration
For Chiesa, this is not a new wound, just the reopening of an old one. He was also excluded from the Champions League squad last season, only finding a way back into the European picture when Giovanni Leoni suffered a serious long-term injury. Opportunity arrived not by design, but by misfortune elsewhere.
He did at least taste the competition in Liverpool colours. The former Juventus forward made his debut for the club off the bench in a Champions League tie in Italy in September 2024, shortly after his £10m move. It hinted at a fresh chapter, a player built for big European nights stepping into a new role.
Those nights have not followed. Not regularly. Not yet.
Iraola’s Ruthless Call
Iraola’s decision underlines the scale of competition now driving Liverpool’s squad. After an extensive rebuild, the club is stacked with attacking and midfield options, and UEFA’s registration limits do not bend to sentiment or reputation.
So the manager has drawn his line. Chiesa and Endo are out, at least for this phase, as Liverpool arm themselves for a demanding European run. The coaching staff will lean on the rest of their depth to carry them through the group of fixtures that define a season’s narrative in the Champions League.
The message is clear: status elsewhere counts for little here. Only those who fit the current balance make the cut.
Domestic Stage or Bust
With the continental door temporarily closed, Chiesa’s route back runs through the training pitches of Kirkby and the grind of domestic competition. Every session, every cup tie, every league appearance becomes an audition for the next registration window, a chance to prove that leaving him out once more was a mistake.
Liverpool’s calendar offers no breathing space. The fixtures stack up, with the schedule building towards a marquee Champions League clash against Inter on January 19. An Italian giant, a European night, a stage that feels made for a player like Chiesa — and one he is not currently registered to step onto.
Injuries changed his fortunes last season, dragging him back into the European frame when it seemed closed. If this campaign follows a similar pattern and gaps appear in Iraola’s squad, the question will be simple: has Chiesa done enough, away from the glare of the Champions League lights, to force his manager’s hand?
